


Forgive Me

by lem0nfr0ggy



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blind Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison, Canon-Typical Violence, Forgiveness, Light Angst, M/M, Post-Fall of Overwatch, Post-Recall, Reaper | Gabriel Reyes Redemption, Trans Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:21:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27147944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lem0nfr0ggy/pseuds/lem0nfr0ggy
Summary: Gabriel Reyes wants forgiveness, but will the other members of Overwatch see it that way. Will Jack Morrison, the golden boy, ever look at him like he was anything less than a monster.When the two have an unlikely encounter on a Talon base in El Dorado, the cycle of forgiveness and reconciliation begins. (R76, light McHanzo)
Relationships: Jesse McCree/Hanzo Shimada, Reaper | Gabriel Reyes & Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison
Kudos: 31





	1. In The Tunnel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, I’m Lemon. :) This is my first fanfic on ao3, but I’ve written other fanfics that I just haven’t shown anyone. I’m currently stuck in R76 hell, so take this thing

Jack Morrison knew the mission was going to be dangerous. A challenge. Sneaking into a Talon base in El Dorado to retrieve a stolen piece of Overwatch tech wasn’t going to be easy, but a super soldier with enhanced speed and reflexes should be up to the challenge. Oh, how wrong he had been 

His first issue was taking a direct hit from the back by a lucky shot. The bullet went through his hip and he hissed in pain, ducking out of the dark hallway that he had assumed was deserted. He used his free arm- the other was clutching his pulse rifle for dear life- to pull himself further down the adjacent hall. He had to escape discretely before the entire base knew he was there. 

Another bullet hit his sternum just as he was pulling himself around the corner. He yelped, that was the arm carrying his rifle. Sure, he could aim with his left, but he couldn’t drag himself away from the fight anymore. He heard the crack of static as the agent who shot him radioed for help. He was really in for it now. He waited with labored breathing, and with great effort he was able to scoot himself up against the wall, rifle in hand, waiting for the worst. 

He had been waiting for far too long now. Ten minutes later, and he hadn’t seen a soul. No agents, no people, not even a scuffling in the hallway or the sound of boots hitting the floor. It was all too suspicious. Ana had _told_ him to bring at least one biotic emitter with him to use if he got hurt, but he had just shrugged her off with a grunt. How stupid he was now. 

The sound of heavy combat boots hitting the floor shook Jack from the recluse of his thoughts. Someone was coming. He readjusted. Holding his rifle with his left arm, and limply fingering the trigger with his right, he prepared himself for the worst. He wasn’t going down without a fight, and god forbid those Talon bastards take him alive.

The figure rounded the corner of the hall. It was a tall, broad-shouldered man with a long black cape and a cowl over his head. His face was obscured by a white mask that loosely resembled an owl or Scream. Jack huffed defiantly. This figure had thwarted his every plan the past few months: the elusive Talon operative known as Reaper.

Reaper stood unblinking, unmoving over Jack. His first instinct was to fire, but something told him that Reaper would react faster than him and he’d be dead. Reaper used his foot to kick the pulse rifle from Soldier 76’s hands, and he was too tired and in too much pain to resist. Reaper squatted down to Jack’s level, staring straight through Jack’s visor with an unreadable look.

Slowly, as not to illicit a defensive response from the soldier, Reaper slowly reached his gloved hand up and gently removed Jack’s visor. Underneath, his face was scarred and old, with deep lines by his mouth and forehead and light stubble on his chin. He had two scars that ran diagonally across his face- one over his nose and one on the end of his mouth. His baby-blue eyes were sad and tired; the product of years of chasing the unattainable dream of fixing Overwatch and bringing the team back together. 

“Jesus, Morrison. You just don’t quit, do you.” 

“Like you’ve made it easy” Jack snarled. “Just kill me already and get it over with. I’m defenseless.”

“We both know you don’t give up that easily, Jack.” Jack glared at him. “And the 76? Really? You’re not fooling anyone.” 

“You wouldn’t get it.” Jack was seething now. “You don’t know anything about me.”

Jack couldn’t see behind Reaper’s mask, but he could have sworn he almost looked sad at that remark. With hesitation, he slowly lifted his hands up to his white mask, as if to remove it. The mask dissolved into a black mist- out of existence- and the face of the man Jack thought he’d never see again looked back. 

“Gabriel.”

Gabriel Reyes looked much older than when Jack had last seen him- just before the explosion at the Switzerland base. His eyes looked permanently sad now, and the skin on his face was marred and colorless. Diagonal scars crisscrossed his cheeks, with an especially deep one at the corner of his left eye. His thick eyebrows and beard were patchy, and some parts had no hair at all. His curly hair, once a buzz cut, was now long, and reached his shoulders in matted clumps. Clearly, Gabriel had taken the brunt of the explosion. 

“Hi, Jack.” 

Gabriel slid down next to him and pulled out a cylindrical object from his jacket. Jack recognized it as a crude version of the biotic emitters that Ana had insisted he take with him. It opened with a click, and the hall filled with a warm, yellow light. Jack felt the tingle of his cells repairing where he had been shot, and the shooting pains in his shoulder and legs faded away. 

They sat in silence for a minute, talking in the presence of the each other. Gabe had known that Jack was behind that visor ever since he had heard of the one-man army known as Soldier 76- that was his call sign at the Soldier Enhancement Program. Jack had had a sneaking suspicion that Gabriel was behind the Reaper, but he had always secretly hoped that it wasn’t him. Finally, Jack turned to Gabriel. 

“How did you survive the explosion?” Jack asked quietly. “They all assumed you were dead- there was a funeral and everything.” 

“Like you were _there_.” Gabriel said quietly. “They thought you were dead, too. There’s even a grave, but no body underneath.”

“There’s a grave for you too, Gabe.” Jack said softly. “I _was_ there.” Gabriel looked almost surprised at the news that there was an actual reminder of him back at the Overwatch headquarters. He chuckled dryly. 

“Funny to think that they went through the effort of making an actual grave for the guy who fucked it all up.”

Jack repeated his question again.

“O’Deorain. She didn’t exactly _save_ me but at least I’m still breathing and shit.” He seemed very bitter about it. “She was the one who made me like this.” He stretched his hand out, and his white mask materialized out of black mist in his hand. The closer Jack looked, the more he realized that the mist was pouring off of him, billowing from his pores like smoke in the wind. 

“That _witch_.” Jack spat. “I never trusted her to begin with. 

They were both quiet again. What else was there to say? After years of chasing ghosts, Jack was being healed by the enemy, and Gabriel was helping the man who had ruined his life so many years ago.

After a few minutes, Gabriel peeked around the corner of the hall, checking to see if the coast was clear. Once he was satisfied by their apparent solitude, he stood up. Gently, he reached an arm around Jack’s waist and hoisted him to his feet, causing Jack to grunt in pain. 

“Sorry.” Gabe responded immediately. He grabbed Jack’s visor and the biotic emitter, and began to walk out of the hall. 

“What are you doing?” Jack grumbled as Gabriel led him towards the exit. 

“We can’t stay here.” Jack thought he heard an edge of worry in Gabriel’s voice. “If they catch us, they’ll kill you and do something much worse to me.” 

“Why do you care?” Jack asked. Instead of responding, he quieted him with a ‘shh’ as they reached the back exit of the compound. 

“Quiet, Morrison.” Gabe turned to make eye contact with Jack, who nodded. His mask materialized on his face, and, together, they turned and fled into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @_lemonfrog_ on Instagram and @lem0nfr0g on tumblr  
> 


	2. A Light Ahead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m just posting these chapters as soon as I’m done with them bc I’ve had this idea for a month lol

Jake awoke in a small, empty bedroom. He was in someone’s bed, and based on the light streaming in from the small window, he could discern that it was about mid-morning. He looked down at the bed he was laying in. He was only wearing his boxers- he had been undressed, and his clothes were folded neatly in the corner of the room. 

He shuffled out of the bedroom and into the main room of the apartment he was in. There was a small kitchen, a table with a chair, and a couch. As he looked around, he noticed a shocking lack of electronic devices. No phones, no tv, and one analog clock on the wall. The kitchen appliances were at least 30 years old, and looked like they were one kick away from breaking down. It was sparsely decorated, and the hardwood floor creaked as Jack walked across it. 

As he scanned the room, Jack noticed a piece of paper on the table that had writing on it. He picked it up and read its contents. 

> _Getting groceries. Be back in an hour. Don’t leave. -Gabe_

Jack put the note back down with a sigh. The least he could do to kill time was get dressed. His nakedness made him feel exposed and vulnerable, and he hated feeling exposed.

He slowly walked back to the bedroom he came from, and began gingerly putting his clothes back on. His entire body was sore, and the area around his wounds was still tender. As he pulled his shirt on, Jack’s thumbs brushed the two identical scars beneath his pecs; the only scars he didn’t get from battle. 

A wave of sadness washed over him. Jack hadn’t realized how much he had missed Gabe. Around him, he never felt like he needed to be a hero, a perfect example. He never felt like he needed to prove that he was worthy of his title, worthy of his name. Around him, John became Jack, and Gabriel became Gabe, and it was only the two of them.

A tear slipped down his cheek as he thumbed his scars. He hadn’t cried in years, and now every bottled up emotion and regret was hitting him at once. Jack wished they could go back, before Blackwatch and the UN, back to the days where it was just the team against the world. Back when he wasn’t Strike Commander, and back when his only worry was the Omnic Crisis and what was going to happen tomorrow. It hurt. It hurt like hell, and there was nothing he could do, because he had fucked it up so royally and couldn’t fix it. 

_The explosion should have killed me_

He pushed that thought out of his head, and continued to dress himself, wiping his tears away as he did so. This was no time to wish things had gone differently. Maybe he’d have the luxury of imagining a better situation for himself, but he could do that when he was dead. 

He was dressed completely except for his boots, which were nowhere in sight. He checked under the bed, and saw his boots. As he pulled them out, he noticed a small box shoved hastily under the bed. He gently pulled it out, making sure not to damage any contents that might be inside. It made a jingling noise, as if there was something metal in it. Hesitantly, he opened the box and examined its contents. 

The contents were strangely familiar. Inside was a black beanie, a set of dog tags, a picture, two empty needles that looked like sleep darts, a picture, and a simple gold ring. The beanie, Jack recognized, was the same one that Gabe wore frequently when he was the Blackwatch commander. The dog tags were the same ones from the SEP, and Jack still still had his matching pair. The picture was of Jack, looking out of the window of his office in Gibraltar, just after the base had been built. The sleep darts, he inferred, were probably used for when Gabriel couldn’t sleep, but, for the life of him, he couldn’t remember where he had seen the ring. 

“Shit.” He mumbled. Even after all these years, they still couldn’t let go of each other. He pushed the box back under the bed; that was probably supposed to be private. 

The door to the apartment opened with a creak. Jack hesitantly poked his head out of the bedroom, just to make sure it wasn’t an intruder or someone he didn’t want to see. It was just Gabriel with two grocery bags. He let out a sight of relief- he didn’t think he had the strength to fight off an intruder if there was one. 

“Good morning.” Gabe murmured. He wasn’t wearing his Reaper getup, instead he was dressed casually in a hoodie and jeans with a baseball cap. 

“Is it safe for you to go out like that?” Jack asked quizzically. The last thing they both needed was for someone to recognize Gabriel and follow him back to the apartment, only to discover Talon’s most wanted criminal sleeping in his bed. 

“Yes.” Gabe responded curtly. “No one at Talon has ever seen me without my mask, and they don’t bother to check what I do when I’m not working for them.” He made a wide gesture across the room. “Here, I’m safe.” 

Gabe wordlessly made some semblance of a breakfast- he wasn’t the best cook- and they ate together in silence. They both had the same thing on their mind: where was Jack going to go. He couldn’t stay, not in El Dorado, and getting out would be incredibly tricky. After finishing their meals quietly, Gabriel finally broke the silence. 

“You can’t stay here.” Jack nodded. “There’s a bus that leaves at 1:30 for the neighboring town. There, you can get on a train to Mexico City. That _is_ where you and Ana are currently holed up, is it not?” 

“Yeah, but what about you?” Jack moved to put his hand over Gabe’s, but stopped an inch away. 

“I’m staying here. Talon won’t just let me up and go. Not now.” This confused Jack. 

“So that’s it? You save my life after not seeing me for years and then just let me go?” Jack was confused and frustrated- he couldn’t just leave Gabe. Not after what they just went through. 

“Talon isn’t just going to let their most prized mercenary run off with the former Strike Commander of Overwatch. They will hunt me down; they will hunt you down and they will not give us the privilege of death.”Gabriel said with an edge. He had witnessed what Talon did with deserters firsthand, and he had no intention of experiencing what they did. 

“But why would you just save me if you were going to leave again? Why risk yourself to save me?” Jack’s voice bubbled with anger. He couldn’t understand why Gabriel would put himself in harms way to save him and then attempt to act like he didn’t care about Jack. 

“Dammit Jack, you just don’t get it.” Gabriel stood up. “You can’t just die! Not now. I only _worked_ for Talon because I had nowhere else to go.” He was yelling now, years of pain and anger being released with every word. “Where do you go after you mess up as much as I did? What was I supposed to do after I ruined us!?” Gabriel yelled.

His catharsis seemed to drain all of the energy out of his body. He slumped back down in his chair, head in his hands, trying to hide the tears that threatened to spill. 

“Gabe.” Jack whispered. He looked so small and scared with his head in his hands, shoulders trembling. Jack had never considered what Gabriel had to go through after being pulled from death involuntarily. Jack crossed to the other side of the table and sank to Gabriel’s level. Gabe looked up, eyes defeated. 

“I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t apologize.” Jack whispered, pulling Gabriel into his arms. Gabe melted, and he felt all of the muscles in his shoulders finally relax. “ _I’m_ sorry. I had never considered... what you went through with Talon.” Jack began to tear up now, his words becoming choked. “I never should have let you go.” 

Jack began to cry into Gabe’s shoulder, finally letting years of regret, hurt and pain leave his body in an exodus of tears. It hurt, what they went through. It hurt that they both lost each other in the process, and Jack never really forgave himself for pushing Gabe away. He believed it was his fault, and he believed that Gabriel had every right to remain angry. 

Gabriel was the first to pull away, hesitantly making eye contact with Jack. 

“Where would we go from here?” He asked quietly, but he already knew the answer. 

“Recall.” Jack responded. Gabe sighed. He couldn’t go back and face the team, not after all of the lies and pain tore them apart. It was his fault, and he knew the team wouldn’t be as quick to forgive as Jack. 

“I don’t think the team would be very happy to see me.” Jack shook his head. 

“Its tough to forgive. It hurts to face what you’ve done, but you can’t keep working for Talon. I _know_ that you are a good person. It won’t be easy, but I think the team will forgive you.” This time, Gabe nodded. It was going to be painful, but what else could he do? 

  
———  


“Ok, tell me again. One more time.” Jack surveyed the tickets and notepad that lay on the kitchen table- the details of their departure laid out so that there would be no room for error or failure. 

“The bus leaves at 1:30,” Gabriel began. “The walk to the bus station takes approximately 10 minutes. We’ll leave at 1:17 so we minimize our waiting time outside the bus stop.” Just in case, Gabe and Jack had prepared ‘disguises’, which had just consisted of a baseball cap and face mask for Jack, and shaving Gabriel’s hair back to his usual buzz cut. 

“How long is the bus ride to the next town over?” Jack asked. 

“About 45 minutes. Once we’re there, we take our tickets,” he held up a pair of fake train tickets “and we board the train that leaves for Mexico City at 2:30. From there, you can lead us to where you and Ana are staying.” 

Jack nodded. If all went according to plan, they would be in Mexico City by 6:30. As they left the apartment and walked the streets of El Dorado, Jack couldn’t help but wonder just how long the town had been under Talon control, and how the people there lived.

After almost exactly 10 minutes of walking, they made it to the bus stop. There was one man already there, sitting on a bench. Jack and Gabriel stood as they waited for the bus to come, but by 1:38, the bus still hadn’t arrived. 

Gabriel looked ready to punch something. If the bus didn’t arrive by 1:45, then they would miss the train to New Mexico, and the next one didn’t leave for another day. They couldn’t afford to wait that long. 

“Look, there it is!” Jack pointed to the bus that was turning the corner. Gabriel sighed- they would make the train on time. They boarded the bus, attempting to look as nondescript and normal as possible. They sat down next to each other, and the bus began it’s 45 minute drive to the next town over. 

Jack didn’t know when he fell asleep. He was gently shaken awake by Gabe, who gestured that they needed to get off. Jack rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and stepped off the bus. 

The train station was crowded with people, who were all clamoring to get to their trains on time. Gabriel practically dragged Jack through the station; he just wanted to get on the train and get out of there. They were too exposed, and if they were recognized they were done for. 

They made it to the platform early- the train hadn’t arrived yet. Jack could tell Gabriel was hyper aware of his surroundings, and he looked incredibly tense. Just to ease his nerves while they were waiting, Jack gently grabbed his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. They were going to be ok. He was sure of it. 

Gabriel almost jumped when Jack grabbed his hand. He was so worried they’d be spotted, and word would get back to Talon that he was smuggling their most wanted criminal out of El Dorado, but Jack’s hand in his grounded him back in reality. It reminded him of their missions together in SEP, when he was still wound up after a mission and Jack would comfort him. He smiled a little bit at the fond memory. 

At exactly 2:30, the train bound for Mexico City pulled into the station with a screech. Jack gave their fake tickets to the conductor, who barely gave them a second glance, and him and Gabriel took their seats in an empty car. Gabriel attempted to yawn discreetly, but Jack could see how tired he was. 

“You can get some sleep if you want. I’ll stay awake just in case.” Jack whispered. 

“No, I’m ok.” Gabriel shook his head, but his eyes threatened to snap shut at any moment. He was tired, even if he didn’t want to admit it. 

“Come on. It’s a three hour ride. You need to sleep.” Gabriel sighed. 

“Fine.” He finally allowed himself to relax, and lean his head back against his seat. A few minutes later, he resigned himself to resting his head on Jack’s shoulder as the train trundled towards Mexico City. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hello hi Gabe was gonna give that ring to Jack :,(  
> Also ik this one is long but there was a lot I wanted to cover


	3. Amari

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me @ myself: please do your APUSH homework I’m begging u  
> Me: Hee hee hoo hoo Ana Amari time :)  
> Anyways please enjoy

Jack and Gabriel slipped off the train once it arrived in Mexico City, and quickly made their way through back alleys and side streets to avoid being seen. Mexico City was crawling with Talon agents, and it would only take one unlucky sighting to doom them both. After 15 minutes of walking, they came to an old bar on a deserted street.

“This is it,” Jack said as they reached the door. “Just follow my lead.” Gabriel nodded, but he couldn’t help but feel a prickle of nervousness. After years, he was finally going to see Ana again. 

The bar door opened with a creak. It was dark and dingy inside, with only a few patrons sitting at empty tables. Jack sat at the bar, and Gabe followed suit. _Wait here,_ Jack mouthed, and he got up and knocked on an employees-only door. The door opened, and he slipped inside. 

Gabriel twiddled his thumbs nervously as he waited. Ana was like a big sister to him, and he knew that she took a lot of the blame for him when the UN began questioning about Blackwatch. She would be angry at him. Most definitely. 

Jack stuck his head out of the door, and waved Gabe over. He huffed as he stepped through the door and into a small apartment. It was larger then his, with two bedrooms and bathrooms. Jack stopped at the door to a bedroom, and motioned for him to wait again. 

“Ana. I need you to promise that whatever happens, you remain calm.” Gabe could almost sense that Jack was nervous. Neither of them could predict how Ana would react, and that scared them. 

“What have you done now?” Ana asked from the bedroom. He could hear her walking towards the door. Gabriel placed his hands where she could easily see them. He didn’t want her thinking he had any ill intentions or weapons on him. 

Ana stepped out of the room. She looked years older than when he last saw her, and her hair was almost entirely gray. She had also shrunk several inches, and had a patch over her right eye. 

Her gaze shifted from Jack to Gabriel, and a potent look of fear, anger and confusion crossed her face. In one quick movement, she had whipped out her tranquilizer gun and fired two shots into Gabe’s chest. His eyes rolled back in his head as he limply crumpled to the floor. 

The last thing he heard before he succumbed to sleep was a muffled, angry “Ana!” and a stream of unintelligible Egyptian swearing.

  
———  


Gabriel awoke in a dark, unfamiliar bedroom. In his perceived aloneness, he put his face in his hands. _Of course it wouldn’t be that simple._ A click alerted him that he was not alone, and Gabe nearly jumped out of his skin hen he saw Ana, sitting in a chair across the bed, holding her biotic rifle. 

She loaded a round into it, never taking her eyes off of him. The look she gave him withered his confidence; he wanted to shrink away from the vengeful gaze of Ana Amari. 

“Ana.” He muttered to acknowledge her presence. She only narrowed her eyes back at him. In an attempt to make himself as nonthreatening as possible, he raised his hands in a weak surrender. 

“Don’t think just because you saved Jack and brought him back here I will forgive you.” She uttered. “I know what you’ve done. I risked my ass to protect you from the UN backlash, and this is how you repay us. You blow up the Swiss base, join Talon, and destroy our family. I had always thought you were better than that.” 

Every word cut like a knife, each new word opening up old wounds and regrets. She was right, of course, but that didn’t soften the blow of the reality of his actions. 

“I know this doesn’t mean much to you,” he began hesitantly, “but I’m sorry.” This set off something in Ana. 

“Sorry? Sorry doesn’t fix this, Gabriel. Sorry doesn’t bring the team back together, doesn’t fix what Talon did to us. Sorry doesn’t bring back my eye.” He winced. That was Ámelie’s doing. “The only reason I don’t kill you now is because Jack seems to trust you.”

Gabriel bowed his head. Ana had every right to end it here, and he had fully accepted that. A call from the kitchen caused her to stand up and leave the room, but her demeanor said everything. This was not going to be easy. Gabe finally got up, and slowly walked to the kitchen like a wounded puppy. 

Jack was standing over a table in the kitchen. On the table was a map, and an ancient phone. He looked up as Gabriel and Ana walked in. There was a palpable tension between the two, and he could glean that Ana wasn’t going to forgive easily. He sighed.

They needed to come up with a plan. Quickly. They were short on options, and Mexico City had a large Talon presence. It wasn’t going to be easy. 

“Ok,” Jack began, “the closest private airport that isn’t under Talon control is here.” He pointed to a point on the map that had been marked with a red dot. “It’s our best bet for getting a plane that can make the flight to Gibraltar.” 

Gabriel nodded along. Stealing a plane wasn’t the easiest thing to do, but he had done it once or twice. However, Jack’s tone of voice told him that there was a hiccup in the plan. 

“The issue is that this airport is under the control of a cartel that smuggles drugs and illegal weapons into Europe. It is heavily guarded, with two armed guards at every exit and four guarding each plane.” Jack finished. This threw a real wrench in the plan. Stealing a plane from an unguarded private airport was easy, but stealing a large plane from an airport used by a cartel to smuggle drugs was definitely not. 

“We have to be strategic about this.” Gabe added. “We’ll have to pick a specific entrance, and only draw attention to ourselves when we need to.” Ana curtly nodded. 

“What about the guards _around_ the planes? Say we do get into one unnoticed. We won’t be able to start the plane without alerting the guards, and we certainly won’t be able to take off if they set up a blockade to stop us.” Ana asked. Like him, she thought out her plans so thoroughly, so that there could be no room for error. 

“How many tranquilizer darts do you have left, Ana?” Jack asked. They had to get through six guards, and she had already wasted two on Gabriel. 

“Seven.” 

“Don’t miss.” Jack ordered. 

“I won’t.” 

That was the end of that. Ana was satisfied enough, and she turned and went back to her bedroom; to do what, Jack and Gabriel didn’t know. She left just the two of them standing around the kitchen table. Jack looked outside. It was pitch black except for a half moon. 

Jack yawned. It had been a long day, and although Gabriel had been hit with two tranquilizer darts, his body still felt tired. 

“I’m going to bed.” Jack muttered. “There isn’t another bedroom, so you’re going to have to share mine.” Gabe shrugged his shoulders. 

“I’ll be there in a bit.” In truth, Gabriel wanted to talk to Ana again, but he’d felt like he had exhausted all of his options with her. Jack thought nothing of it, and headed back to his room. 

Instead of following him, Gabriel went into the little bathroom and splashed cold water on his face. Looking into the mirror and seeing his face, his _real_ face, took him back to the heyday of Overwatch. Back when things were so much easier, and relationships weren’t beyond repair because of his actions. 

He wiped the water from his face with a towel. He couldn’t help but get a nagging feeling that Talon was out there looking for him. They would have to face Talon eventually, and he had no desire to go against the highly skilled agents he had worked with prior. 

He sighed. _That would have to wait until later._ He quietly made his way to the other bedroom, and slipped in; hoping not to wake Jack. Jack was still awake, however, and he grunted to convey as much to Gabriel. Gabriel slipped off his shirt and pants, and crawled into bed facing away from Jack. 

After about thirty minutes, neither of them had fallen asleep. Jack couldn’t help but think about the team that he had abandoned after the explosion at the Swiss base. He had just up and left them, taking solace in his apparent death. He dreaded facing them again. 

“Are you awake?” Jack whispered.

“Yes.” Gabriel whispered back. He rolled over, and Jack did the same so they were facing each other. “What is it?” 

“The team. I can’t stop thinking about how I left them. They needed me, and I left.” 

“It’s not your fault, Jack.” Gabriel reassured. “You were hurt.” Jack shook his head. 

“I left them to take the fall for me. I could have done more to try and hold us together. Instead, Overwatch crumbled because I was too hurt to help.” Gabe grabbed Jack’s hand, causing him to look up. 

“Jack.” He began, full of resolve, and not in a whisper. “You can’t take the blame for all of this. You can’t think everything is your fault. You were the leader, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t your fault for what happened.” His voice dropped back to a whisper. “You can’t blame yourself for everything.” 

“Ok.” Jack nodded. He gave Gabriel’s hand a squeeze. “Thank you.” They felt at peace together in the comforting darkness, and they slowly drifted off into a dreamless sleep. 

Jack woke up a few hours later, just as the first rays of sun were peeking through the little bedroom window. He felt incredibly well rested. He turned his head just a little to see if Gabriel was still sleeping; he was, and was still facing towards him. In his sleep, Jack had turned away, so Gabe was facing his back. 

Gabriel was a human heat-coil, and as he lay there, Jack could feel him radiating warmth. He could feel his slow, even breaths on the back of his neck. He felt an odd sensation: a yearning. He felt so safe with Gabriel, and he didn’t want that to end. 

Jack wanted to roll over and bury his face in Gabriel’s neck and stay there. He didn’t want to get up or face reality- he was content to lay in bed next to Gabe, feeling the warmth from his breath on his back. 

Unfortunately, early-bird Ana started boiling water in the kitchen for tea, and the noise caused Gabriel to wake up. Jack pretended he was just waking up, too, and he sat up and stretched. Gabe was not a morning person, and he grumbled something unintelligible as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. 

They both made their way to the kitchen, where Ana had prepared a cup of tea and two cups of coffee for them. They ate toast in silence, mentally preparing themself for the mission at hand: sneak in, get a plane, fly out. Gabriel knew he would be under close scrutiny the whole time- Ana would be carefully watching for any signs of betrayal. He would have to tread carefully.

Once they were done, they began to arm themselves. Gabe did have the ability to summon his shotguns from the ever-persistent mist that seemed to billow off him at all times, but Ana shot him a warning glance when he tried to do it. She instead gave him a small hand gun with a silencer, and instructed him to only use it when needed. 

Jack donned his ‘76’ jacket, which had been the telltale sign that Jack and Soldier 76 had been linked in the first place. He placed his visor in his pocket, and Ana donned a long coat to conceal the tranquilizer darts and lethal rounds she had strapped to her belt. Once they were content with the ammunition they’d packed, they left the apartment. 

The band of wanted criminals couldn’t risk taking the bus- there was too large of a Talon presence in the city, and public transportation would paint an even bigger target on their backs. Instead, they walked to the airport, trekking through alleys and side streets to avoid as many people as possible. After 45 minutes of walking, they made it out of the city, and they could clearly see the airstrip ahead of them. 

They took cover by a grove of trees a few meters away from a side entrance, which had two guards posted by the gate. Jack donned his visor, and quickly scanned the area. Ana loaded two darts into her gun quietly, and took aim. Within seconds, both guards had fallen to the ground- she had hit her marks. Jack motioned them forward, and they slipped through the entrance with ease. 

The next hurdle was picking out the right plane. They had managed to hide themselves behind a pallet of crates, and they scanned the hangar for other guards. 

“That one.” Gabriel pointed to the second largest plane: an unmarked private jet. Two men were fueling it up. “It’ll be fully fueled, and it can make the trip.” 

“I don’t have enough darts to sedate the guards and the men fueling it.” Ana pointed out. She had five left, and there were six men standing around the plane. 

“We’ll have to wait.” Jack suggested. Ana nodded, shifting her weight on the balls of her feet. Two minutes later, the men fueling the plane stepped away. 

“They’re done.” Jack warned. Gabriel prepared himself to run, but a voice from behind caused him to falter. Someone had spotted them. 

“Hey!” A worker carrying a crate yelled. 

“Go!” Gabriel hissed. The three of them took off from behind the crates, making a beeline for the plane. They heard yelling behind them as the worker who found them alerted others. 

“Ana!” Jack yelled. Ana picked up the queue, and began firing off the tranquilizer darts. Three of them hit their marks, but the fourth narrowly missed, and the guard turned and began to fire at them. They had one dart left, and they still needed to dispose of the fourth guard. 

“This way!” Gabriel yelled, directing around the plane and to another stack of crates for cover. They made it behind the crates just as more shots were fired. They were out of breath, but they couldn’t stop until the last guard was sedated so they could board the plane. 

“Gabe and I will draw fire. You focus on hitting the last guard.” Ana nodded. However, just as Jack stepped out from behind the crates, Gabriel heard the footsteps of someone rounding the corner. He unceremoniously shoved Ana to the ground just as the guard who was flanking fired off a round at them. One of the bullets went into Gabriel’s forearm. With a growl, he drew his firearm and shot the guard in the leg. 

“Let’s go!” Gabriel yelled. With his uninjured arm, he pulled Ana up, and they ran towards the plane. Ana fired off her final dart, which hit the last guard in the leg. The three of them dashed up the steps into the plane, and Jack and Gabriel rushed to the cockpit. 

All hell was breaking loose on the tarmac below, and Jack was piloting the plane as fast as he could on the ground. They finally made it to the runway just as klaxon alarms began to wail in the hangar behind them. 

“Hold on.” Jack warned. “I haven’t flown in a while.” The plane began to pick up speed as they hurtled down the runway- Gabriel nervously gripped the arm rest of his seat. The wheels finally left the ground, and the plane made a turbulent ascent above the clouds. Once he was sure they were at a cruising altitude and well away from the fight, Jack let out a sigh of relief. 

“We made it.” Gabriel laughed. Adrenaline was still coursing in his veins, and he had forgotten about his arm until Jack pointed it out. 

“You’re bleeding, Gabe.” Jack grabbed his arm and examined it with a deft tenderness that made Gabriel’s stomach drop. “Ana, do you think you could patch him up?”

Ana waved him over. Gabe sat down on a seat while she examined his arm, and then gave him a light injection of a painkiller. As she began to bandage it, she looked up. 

“Thank you.” That was all Ana had to say. She dropped her guard completely now. After he took the shot for her, she began to trust him a little bit more- why would he risk himself for her if he hadn’t changed? Gabriel nodded. 

After his arm was bandaged completely, Gabriel made his way back to the cockpit and sat down next to Jack again. 

“Better?” Jack asked.

“Better.” They could finally relax for a few hours, as the plane flew towards Gibraltar, and towards their old home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not me ignoring the Hour Zero short so that the recall happens in Gibraltar  
> Also, Jack being a touch starved gay


	4. The Return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My writing pace may be slowing down a bit, but the ideas are still flowing! I’ve been so excited to write this chapter since I started

Their plane made a bumpy landing on a small airstrip just outside of Campamento. Gabriel did some quick apologizing in broken Spanish, and the three made their way to the peninsula. As they trekked back to the base, the surrounding town became more familiar to them. Often, on off nights, Jack and Gabriel would go out into the town and have dinner together, just the two of them. Now, the town was deserted and quiet. Nothing moved or made a sound. 

They reached the edge of the land that made up the base. There were sensors underground that would be tripped as soon as they stepped onto the base grounds. With hesitation, Jack stepped over the sensors, and back onto home ground. He then removed his visor- he wouldn't need it here.

After less than 5 minutes of walking, Jack got the strange sensation that they were being watched. Before he could even turn to see who was watching him, a flash of silver and green dropped down in front of them from a tree. The figure stood- Jack recognized it as Genji Shimada, a cyborg Blackwatch agent. 

Genji scanned the group, his expression unreadable behind his green cybernetic mask. He hovered longer over Gabriel, assessing his potential danger. 

“Welcome. Commander Morrison, Reyes; Captain Amari.” Gabriel shifted his weight uncomfortably. He couldn’t tell if Genji was going to strike or walk away. Instead, he turned and began to walk towards the base. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

They followed uneasily. Ana noticed that Genji had been thumbing a shuriken the entire time they had been walking- he was just as uneasy as they were. They made it to the top of the hill that took them to the bottom of the base. Jack and Gabriel took in the familiar view. Everything was exactly the same, but it looked slightly older and sadder. 

“I never thought I’d miss this.” Ana muttered in disbelief. As they walked through the halls and towards the others, memories began to flood back. A good laugh here, celebrating a hard-earned victory there. Gabriel began to feel even more guilty as they progressed. Any form of happiness that had existed in this place had died when Overwatch split. And it was his fault. 

Only the hums of Genji’s cybernetic body and their footsteps broke the silence as they made it to the end of the hall. The door to the lounge where voices could be heard was haunting them- a dare to face every mistake they had made in the past few years. With a sigh, Jack opened to door. 

The lounge was packed with familiar faces. Jack recognized Fareeha and Brigitte, who had both grown considerably since he had last seen them. Angela was sitting next to Fareeha, chatting absentmindedly with her. Gabriel was shocked to see Jesse McCree there: he was sure he’d never return to Overwatch after what happened in Venice. 

There were some newer faces that weren’t as easily recognizable. The newer recruits, like Hana, Baptiste, and Lúcio, were arguing animatedly, while Reinhardt, Torbjörn, and Mei spectated. Even Winston was there, fiddling with a comically small device while muttering to himself. 

The atmosphere died almost as soon as the other team members saw who entered the room. The first to react was Jesse, whose hand flew to his Peacekeeper in its holster. Gabriel had no doubt he would have fired if it wouldn’t have been for the man standing behind him, who was gripping his hand tightly. He was Japanese, with a quiver of arrows slung across his back. Gabriel made a note to thank him later. 

_Everyone_ was looking at them with mixed emotions of confusion, betrayal, anger, fear and shock. All three of them had been presumed dead, and they had just walked in on the rest of the team as if nothing had happened. Nobody moved. Nobody made a sound. 

After what seemed like an eternity of motionlessness, Fareeha stood and left the room, not bothering to even glance towards Ana. Jesse also stormed out, the archer in hot pursuit. It was just as they expected: old wounds were reopening. 

“Commander Morrison. We thought you were dead.” Winston began hesitantly. He was studying both him and Gabe as if they were some clever tricks of the light. 

“I’m not here to fight.” Gabriel said defensively. “I’m no longer with Talon.” Winston nodded, although he sensed some unease behind it. 

“I need coffee.” Ana muttered. She stormed over to the coffee machine and poured herself an overflowing cup. The three sat down at an empty table, and the conversation in the room resumed with hesitant air. Ana downed her cup at a breakneck speed- she normally never drank coffee, and when she did it meant she was stressed. 

Just as Ana stood up to refill her cup, Lena Oxton approached cautiously. She looked much more grown-up now, with a more confident aura than when she had just been recruited. 

“Commander Morrison. It’s good to see you.” Lena then turned to Gabriel, but she didn’t look scared. “And it’s good to see you too, Commander Reyes.” This made him smile a bit. He had always admired her giddy optimism and unfaltering faith in others. 

“How’s Emily?” Jack asked. Lena had confided in both Jack and Gabriel early on that she had a girlfriend, and they would both check up on them occasionally just to make sure they were ok. It was a sign of acceptance, and Jack had also confided in Lena that he had had a boyfriend, to make her feel more comfortable. 

“Emily is doing alright.” Tracer began, her cheeks bright as she grinned widely. “She’s not too happy with me coming here, but it’s my job to fight, and she knows that. We text a lot.” She then threw a worried glance towards the coffee machine, where Ana was nursing her second cup. "How's Captain Amari?" Jack turned to look. Ana looked much older now, the lines on her forehead were defined as she furrowed her brows in thought.

"She needs time. We all do." Jack said comfortingly. "Fareeha is probably in shock. She did fake her own death, after all." Lena nodded. It was a volatile time for everyone, and that would come with hurt feelings and difficult conversations. 

"Can I..." She hesitated. "hug you?" Her cheery facade faltered for just a second, and underneath she looked small and scared, like a baby bird. It was a rare moment of weakness for her, which revealed just how much she was still processing everything that had happened. It broke Jack's heart. 

"Yes." She almost dashed forwards, her thin arms wrapping around Jack's torso tightly. He hugged Lena back in an attempt to replace the years that he had been gone; missing when they needed his leadership most. She shocked them both when she turned to Gabriel and asked the same question. He nodded cautiously, unsure of what exactly she was asking. To his surprise, she leaned in and hugged him tightly, her shoulders trembling. She pulled away and sighed, returning to her sunny disposition with a nod. 

"I missed you guys." She smiled widely and then bounced off to initiate a conversation with Hana. Her optimism and sunny personality always put people in a good mood, which was much needed after Jack, Gabriel, and Ana's somber entrance. Ana returned to the table, grasping her empty paper coffee cup like a lifeline. Jack had never seen her so distraught, not even after Venice. 

"Are you ok?" Gabriel asked quietly. He gently tapped the table in front of her to get her attention. 

"Of course it wouldn't be that simple. Fareeha thought I was dead, and I was _stupid_ enough to think that reconciling with her would be easy." She paused as the weight of her words set in. "She hates me."

"She doesn't hate you." Jack reassured. "She just needs time." He turned to look back at the team. "We all do." All Ana could do was shake her head and sigh. This wasn't going to be easy. 

  
\------  


Winston led Jack and Gabriel to their respective rooms. They were the same rooms they occupied when the base was functioning, and they still knew their way around, but it was more symbolic this way. They passed the infirmary, where a soft humming could be heard as Angela Zeigler worked. They had almost left the hall when they heard the urgent click of high heels. Jack turned to see Angela running down the hall toward them, clipboard in hand. She stopped in front of them, panting. 

"Sorry to bother you." She began, her voice tinged with a slight German accent. "Do you mind if I perform physicals on you both? Just a once-over?" Gabriel shrugged and looked to Jack to make the call. 

"I don't see why not." Angela nodded and walked back down the hall, but her gaze lingered on Gabriel a little longer before she turned. They entered the infirmary and sat down while Angela began to gather the instruments she needed. Jack noticed that her actions were performed with a frantic intensity as if she was nervous. Her hands were shaking. Angela straightened, stethoscope in hand, and gestured for Jack to stand. He complied, and she listened to his heart intently with the stethoscope. When she was satisfied, she gave a curt little nod, and then picked up a small light, which she shined into Jack's eyes. She frowned.

"What?" Jack asked. She put down the flashlight, deep in thought. 

"Follow my finger with your eyes." Angela held up her hand and waved her finger back and forth in front of him. He watched her finger, and she looked at his eyes while he did so. When she was done, she scribbled frantically on her clipboard. "You have partial blindness in your right eye. Your visual tracking is delayed- that's why I made you watch my hand." Jack nodded. He figured as much since the explosion had been so close, the damage was inevitable. "Do you ever notice any clouding of your vision or have poor night vision?"

"I have noticed my vision is slightly blurrier when I'm not wearing my visor," Jack began, pulling the visor out of his jacket pocket, "but I just thought that was the aftereffect of having it on for so long." Angela nodded and scribbled more things on her clipboard. 

"If the visor corrects your vision, you may not need glasses. Your blindness is only partial, and if it hasn't affected your ability to read or fight then I wouldn't worry about it. However, I am going to need to perform routine checks to make sure it doesn't get worse." Jack nodded. There were worse things than having to see Angela every couple of weeks so she could shine a light in his eyes. He could be completely blind. "That's it for you." 

Angela waved Gabriel over, and Jack noticed that she had braced herself when he stood up. She surveyed his face and skin with cautious curiosity as if he was a bomb that was going to blow up at any minute. Her eyes narrowed when she noticed the black mist that hovered around him. Gabe watched as the wheels turned in her head; she was carefully calculating what exactly had caused this anomaly, and any possible diagnoses she could give. 

"Nanites." Gabriel responded, just as Angela opened her mouth to ask a question. "Moira." The name caused Angela to mutter some choice words that could only be interpreted as swearing. Nanites had always been considered to be a dangerous and experimental technology, and she steered clear of using them at all costs due to the potential side effects. 

Gabriel stretched his hand out, palm up, and the white Reaper mask materialized from a cloud of mist. A sad look crossed Angela's face- the effects of the nanites were a painful reminder of what had been done to keep her friend alive. With a sigh, she picked up the stethoscope and Gabriel dissipated the mask back into black mist. She pressed the cold metal against his chest, trying to get a reading on his heartbeat. She pulled back, frowned, wiped the end of the stethoscope with her sleeve, and listened again. 

"Your heartbeat is abnormally slow. The average resting heart rate is 60 to 100 beats per minute and I clock yours at around 40." Gabriel frowned and put a hand to his chest to feel his heart. He had never noticed it, but it did beat at a slow pace. Angela stepped back and began tapping her pen to the side of her head as if it stimulated her thought process. "I am also going to take your temperature." She grabbed an infrared thermometer and held it up to his forehead. It beeped after a few seconds, signaling that it was done. Angela looked at the reading with a pensive look. 

"What?" Gabriel asked. 

"Your temperature is 99.4. Do you feel feverish or have chills?" Gabriel shook his head. "Whatever the process was to preserve your body before the nanites, it wasn't done correctly. However, I can only assume your body is functioning normally due to your gene enhancements from the army." Gabe scoffed. The SEP had been painful and risky, but it was ironically paying off now. Angela stepped back to survey him again, shaking her head as she did so. Both Jack and Gabriel could tell that she was distraught. 

"Are you ok, Angela?" Jack noticed her shoulders begin to shake. 

“I wish I had been there.” Her voice trembled. “This wouldn’t have happened if I had been there. Instead, Talon made you into _this_.” Gabriel shook his head, and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. 

“You can’t blame yourself for something like this. It’s not your fault.” Gabriel reassured as she sniffled. “Hey.” He said reassuringly. Angela looked up. “I am going to be ok.” 

Angela let about a sigh and nodded. Gabriel patted her shoulder, and she dismissed him and Jack from the infirmary. The walk to their rooms was quiet. Jack stopped just outside his room- Gabriel’s was down the hall a bit. 

“Do you really think we’ll be ok?” Jack asked quietly, referring to what Gabe said back at the infirmary. 

“To be honest...” he paused, “I don’t know. At this point, anything can happen.” Jack nodded. He wanted to reach out and do something, but the moment had passed. Instead, he turned to enter his room. 

“Goodnight, Gabe.” 

“Goodnight, Jack.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so the McHanzo begins :)))  
> Also not me actually researching partial blindness symptoms and average heart rate/ temperature for an hour because I wanted Angela to actually be giving a reasonable diagnosis


	5. Spurs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, some quality McCree time :)  
> Here comes all of the apologizing and sad scenes. Buckle up gamers, it’s gonna get Fun

It was a bright, cloudless morning in Gibraltar. Gabriel and Jack made their way towards the sound of conversation in the cafeteria. Most of the recruits were up, chatting over coffee and pastries. Gabriel noticed a significant lack of two people: Jesse and Fareeha. 

Jack sat down next to Ana, who was staring absentmindedly into a cup of tea. Gabriel walked up to the counter on one side of the room, where a coffee machine, several plates of pastries and a countertop warmer with oatmeal sat. 

As he filled his mug with coffee, he noticed that the Japanese archer that left with Jesse entered. He walked swiftly to the counter, and put two bagels on a plate. He did so with quick efficiency and grabbed a grape jelly. A bagel with jelly was what Jesse usually had for breakfast, along with a coffee. Just as he suspected, the archer grabbed a cup and filled it with coffee. 

“How is he?” Gabriel asked quietly. There was no need to say a name, there was only one person he could be referring to. The archer stiffened, the gears in his head turning as he calculated a careful response to his question. 

“Not good.” Was all he could muster. “Angry. He’s not happy to see you.” Gabriel nodded sadly- Jesse could get like this when he was angry. He was always so fiercely stubborn, and that made it especially difficult to formulate an apology. However, connecting with his friend might be the first step to getting to talk to him. 

“You’re Genji’s brother.” Gabriel stated. Genji had mentioned his name once or twice, but he couldn’t remember it. The archer seemed to stiffen at the mention of Genji but made no move to leave. 

“Yes.” He answered pointedly. When he realized Gabriel didn’t know his name, he divulged. “Hanzo.” 

“Ah.” Gabriel nodded. Just as Hanzo turned to leave, he stopped him. “Just tell Jesse I want to talk.” Hanzo looked slightly miffed my being stopped, but he nodded curtly. Gabriel sighed, and let him go. He hadn’t seen Jesse since he left the cafeteria yesterday, not even in the halls. He was actively avoiding Gabriel, which just made his job even harder. 

He sat back down next to Jack and Ana. Outside, the sun showed brightly over the ocean, and a few wispy clouds dotted the horizon. He had missed this: the beautiful mornings surrounded by people he trusted and valued. With Jack. He finished his coffee and stood up. 

“I’m gonna take a walk. For nostalgia purposes.” Jack stood up with him. 

“Do you want me to come with you?” 

“That’s ok.” Gabe waved him off, but he leaned in and dropped his voice to a whisper. “Just take care of Ana.” Jack nodded, and Gabriel clapped a hand on his shoulder. _His very muscular shoulder._

Once he left the cafeteria, the noise of conversation died away. The only sound he heard as he drank in the memories of the base was his combat boots hitting the floor. He passed Jack’s office, and he felt a little pang of sadness. The UN had driven them apart with ‘Strike-Commander’ this and ‘publicity’ that. 

Gabriel remembered how Jack began to spend long nights in his office, stressing over paperwork and working himself into the ground. It wasn’t good for him, but there was nothing Gabriel could have done. That’s what hurt him the most. 

He kept walking. That was over now; the damage had been done. He exited through a door that led to a balcony, but then immediately wished he hadn’t. Genji and another omnic, dressed in monk clothing, were sitting on the ground cross-legged across from each other. Gabe turned to leave, but Genji beat him to it. 

“Wait.” Genji called, his voice tinged with a robotic edge. “You are welcome to stay, Commander.” Gabriel nodded and awkwardly sank to his knees behind Genji. The omnic across from him turned his head, his face unreadable. 

“I am Zenyatta.” He began. “I am a member of the Shambali.” Gabriel nodded, the name stuck out to him. He vaguely remembered Ámelie being sent on a mission to assassinate one of their members. That just made him even more uncomfortable. 

“He is my master.” Genji said with fondness. “He helped me come to terms with myself and my body. After the fall,” he paused, “I went to him for guidance. He saved my life.” Zenyatta nodded, his closed eyes conveying a sereneness that immediately put Gabe at ease. 

“I help those who are misguided. I ease their mind, so that they may heal physically and mentally.” He paused, surveying Gabriel with his permanent neutral expression. “I sense unrest in you.” 

“I’m sure everyone knows the story.” He said with a grunt. Zenyatta was right, of course. “Being back just makes me feel worse about everything. I don’t feel like I deserve to be a part of the team.” He sighed. 

Gabriel didn’t know why he was spilling his feelings to an omnic monk and Genji, but something about Zenyatta’s calm, meditative face and serene aura made him feel open inside. The omnic let out a metallic hum as he pondered Gabriel’s words. 

“You have to let go of the past. There is growth that has been made since then; I can see that.” Gabriel nodded, clinging onto every word. “You have to learn to focus on your present self.” 

“But what about the others? What about Jesse? He seems to be fairly set in his opinion of me.” 

“Healing is a lengthy process. He may not show it, but Jesse McCree is hurt, and he needs release. He may be stubborn in his ways, but showing that you care and wish to help him will certainly help him heal. Both of you.” Gabriel nodded. He had never been fond of omnics, not after the crisis, but he figured he ought to rethink his position on them. He stood, ready to face Jesse. 

“Thank you.” Zenyatta rose as well, his feet hovering above the ground. He bowed, his hands in front of him, one fist on top of the other as a sign of respect. Gabriel clumsily copied the motion in an attempt to show his gratitude. 

“Go in peace.”

  
———  


Gabriel stood in front of the door to Jesse’s room, staring at the name sign with fierce determination. He wanted to apologize, he wanted to help, he wanted to heal. He knocked lightly on the door. After a second, and the sound of some scuffling, Hanzo opened the door. Jesse was sitting on the bed, shoulders hunched, glaring daggers at Gabriel. He almost shut the door then and there- that look could kill. 

“Pardon.” Hanzo mumbled quietly as he left the room. Gabriel stepped inwards, and the door swung shut behind him. It was just him and Jesse. Alone. His Peacekeeper was sitting on his nightstand, just an arm's length away. 

Gabriel awkwardly grabbed a chair by his desk and sat down. The creak of the chair as he sat was deafening, cutting through the silence that festered between them. They sat in silence for a minute- Gabriel could tell Jesse was actively deciding whether or not he was going to kill Gabriel or kick him out. 

"What d'ya want, Reyes." Jesse spat in a thick western drawl. Gabriel spoke in a calm and even tone in an attempt to show that he meant no harm. 

"I want to talk." Jessie huffed, obviously not understanding that Gabriel was trying to extend an olive branch. 

"I don't want to talk to 'ya. You've got some real nerve thinking you can come back here and act all buddy-buddy with me." 

"I'm not trying to do that. I just want to make things right between us. Between everyone." He needed to keep his cool.

"You had 'yer chance to do that a long time ago. You had 'yer chance in Switzerland, but you blew that along with blowing up the _fucking_ base." That hit home for Gabriel. He had regretted doing that ever since it happened- it hurt him along with the others. 

"Not a day goes by where I don't regret that. I made a lot of mistakes, Jesse, and I'm sorry. I came back to make it right." 

"And how the _FUCK_ do ya' think that makes me feel? You ruin the only family I ever had, send those Talon bastards to hunt us down, and _now_ you're coming back to apologize? That's a right ton of shit, Reyes." It almost hurt more that Jesse kept calling him 'Reyes'. 

"I'm not with Talon anymore. I didn't want to join them, I had to when Moira 'saved' me. The sick bitch used saving my life as leverage. I didn't even deserve to be alive." Gabriel looked down at his hand as he talked, allowing it to shift in and out of its misty form. "I faced the consequences for that. I did what Talon wanted, but I never had a say in it. I left with Jack just after he showed up on our radar." Jesse narrowed his eyes at him, bubbling with anger. 

"And what about Blackwatch? Venice? Ya killed Bartalotti and exposed us to the rest of the world. What d'ya have to say for _that_?" Gabriel sighed. He had killed the man who bombed Blackwatch headquarters in Rome and killing Bartalotti in Venice was what blew Blackwatch's cover. 

"I did what I thought was right. I was only thinking about the agents he killed." He paused. "But I was wrong. I knew I was taking a risk, and it blew up in my face. And I'm sorry." Jesse stood up now, walking towards him quickly as if to attack him. Gabriel jumped up, bracing for a blow. 

"A SORRY ISN'T GONNA FIX THIS!" Jesse yelled. His hands were balled into fists, ready to lash out at any moment. "YA _DRAGGED_ ME FROM NEW MEXICO, TAKE ME IN, TRAIN ME TO BE A KILLER AND THEN LEAVE?!" He suddenly stopped, eyes now shiny with tears. "It's not fair." He whimpered, a sob threatening to spill over. " 'S not fair." 

Gabriel hesitantly reached out, lightly pulling Jesse into a hug, ready to spring away in case he reacted violently. Jesse melted in his arms, deepening the hug as his shoulders shook with sobs. Gabriel gently rubbed circles into his back with his hand, trying his best to comfort him. He had never realized how much he had meant to Jesse. Leaving must have been like losing a family member. 

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Gabriel whispered. Jesse pulled back, wiping tears from his eyes with his metal arm. 

"Shit." He mumbled as he dried his face. "Sorry for blowin' up at ya like that." 

"Its ok." Gabriel reassured quietly. "You needed to. I needed to hear it. I'm not asking for you to forget, but..." 

"I forgive ya." Jesse interceded, which threw Gabriel off guard. Usually, when a reaction of sorts was needed from Jesse, it had to be forced out. His sudden forgiveness shocked him. "It might take me a bit, but I'll get used to havin' ya back." 

"You're a good man, Jesse McCree." Jesse smiled a wide, genuine smile. 

"Oh god, do not say that." Hanzo groaned, standing at the door to Jesse's room. "You'll feed his ego." Jesse laughed heartily, and Hanzo smiled comfortably at him. For the first time in a while, Gabriel smiled genuinely. It felt good. 

  
———  


Gabriel walked back through the base, at lot more at ease than he was this morning. He stopped as he passed Jack’s office again- the door was open, and someone was inside. He perked his head in to see Jack standing over his desk, looking down at an old pile of paperwork. 

“You ok?” Gabriel asked quietly. Jack sighed as he thumbed through the stack of papers. 

“I never liked this part of the job. Logistics. Publicity. Being examined like a bug under a microscope.” Gabriel walked up to him, examining his face as he absentmindedly looked down. “The UN really fucked us up, didn’t they.” 

“Yeah. They won’t exactly be happy when they find out that the team is reassembled.” Jack put his head in his hands and groaned. 

“Ugggh. Nooo. They’ll press charges, probably court martial us, and ask for so many damn _statements_. I don’t want to have to face them again.” Gabriel put his hand down on the desk, his fingertips _inches_ away from Jack’s hand.

“You won’t have to do it alone this time. I’ll be with you.” Jack looked back up to Gabe. His eyes were pained. 

“I don’t want to have to _pretend_ in front of them anymore. Like I’m their little solder, running around doing all the things they don’t want to do. Like I’m the perfect hero. The perfect leader.” Jack’s voice dropped, his last words almost silent as he uttered them. “The perfect _man_.”

This hit Gabriel almost as hard as it hit Jack. He had only mentioned once or twice how uncomfortable he had felt trying to sidestep questions about his childhood, and he had held out hiding that he was transgender right up until Overwatch fell and the truth was out. Gabriel followed his gut reaction, and put both hands on Jack’s shoulders as he looked him directly in the eyes to tell him exactly how he felt. 

“Jack. You shouldn’t have to feel like you’re pretending for _anyone_. I’m sorry I didn’t make you feel comfortable as yourself sooner. You don’t deserve that.” Jack was star struck as Gabriel spoke. “All I want is for you to be happy. I don’t want you to feel like you have to pretend around me. I wish...” He paused, “... I wish I had told you this sooner.” His voice dropped to a low volume. “I care about you.” 

“I don’t want to have to pretend.” Jack sniffled and smiled gratefully at Gabriel, a smile that made his heart flutter. Jack’s blue eyes bored right through him with a mixed expression of gratitude, appreciation and something else that Gabriel couldn’t quite place. 

Jack leaned forward, acting entirely on impulse and years of mixed feelings of yearning and confusing thoughts. He kissed Gabriel, carefully, on the lips. Jack sighed, allowing himself to release all of the tension in his body. He tenderly placed a hand on Gabriel’s cheek. 

Jack pulled away, looking expectantly into his eyes for a response or any sign that he had made a mistake. Gabriel looked back at him, his years of confusing emotions finally becoming clear. 

Gabriel closed the gap between him again and kissed him, deeply, allowing all of his years of hurt and longing wash away. He placed a hand lightly on Jack’s hip to stable himself as his knees became weak. He sighed into Jack, finally feeling at complete ease. Their free hands, which were still on the desk, clasped together. 

They broke the kiss, foreheads pressed together. Jack let out a little chuckle. 

“What?” Gabriel asked. 

“I’ve wanted to do _that_ for a while now.” Jack looked at Gabe and smiled sweetly. 

“You’re stupid, Jack.” Gabriel teased, pushing his hip in a playful manner. They laughed together; finally together. As the sun streamed in through the office window, Gabriel noticed that Jack had blonde eyelashes. He couldn’t be happier, finally confessing himself to Jack. 

They left the office together, going back to the cafeteria for lunch. They were both thinking the same thing as they walked, hands clasped tightly. 

_This is how things are supposed to be._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dad Reyes? Dad Reyes.  
> Also ITS FINALLY HAPPENING!!!! I have wanted to write this scene for so long now it makes me so happy that I’ve finally done it :,)


	6. Flying Low

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is currently Ana Amari hours >:)  
> Also we are seeing more Reinhardt because I love me one (1) big German man

Ana hadn’t expected this. Sure, she knew that seeing Fareeha again and trying to explain why she had dropped off the face of the earth for a few years want going to be easy, but she had never expected it to be like this. Fareeha had taken to avoid her entirely. 

She never showed up to meals, and when she did she left as soon as Ana entered. She couldn’t blame her for the pain and anger she was feeling, but more than anything Ana just wanted to talk to her. What she would give for Fareeha to see her as a mother again. _Her mother._

Eventually, Ana had had enough. She woke up early to try and catch Fareeha while she was grabbing an early breakfast. Just as she planned, Fareeha was alone in the cafeteria, hastily eating a pastry. She got up to leave as soon as Ana walked in. 

“Wait.” Ana called. Less of command, and more of a plea. Fareeha stopped her back to her mother. “I want to talk to you.” 

“What is there to talk about?” Fareeha wheeled on her mother. “You were a deadbeat mother, faked your death so you could run around doing spy shit for a few years, and then _decide_ you can come back and be my mother again?”

“That’s not what I said.” Fareeha scoffed at that remark. 

“Forget it.” She stormed out of the cafeteria, her heavy boots thumping as she trudged away. Ana sighed and slapped her hand to her forehead. 

“Stupid.” The rest of the day, Fareeha was nowhere to be found. She was making it very difficult to apologize to her, however, Ana could understand why she would still be angry. But the stubbornness. She must have inherited that from her. 

Ana made no attempt to seek out Fareeha again. If they were going to have a meaningful conversation together, it would have to be on her daughter’s terms. She did, however, divulge some of her thoughts when Dr. Ziegler asked if she could perform a quick examination on her. 

“What am I supposed to do, Angela?” Ana asked as she listened to her heart through a stethoscope. “She wants nothing to do with me, but all I want is for her to see that I still care about her. She doesn’t make it easy.” Angela looked up, pondering Ana’s query. 

“Fareeha is an independent young woman. She had to grow up quickly after you disappeared. As much as this may hurt to hear, she may not need a mother figure. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t need a parent. You _know_ her father doesn’t understand this part of her life. Be the one that understands. Try and understand her.”

Ana nodded solemnly. As much as she loved Fareeha’s father, he never quite got why they did what they did. She had to let Fareeha talk to her; to let her feelings out completely. Angela was right: she may not need a mother figure anymore. 

After cleaning out her old office, which had sported a thick layer of dust, and exploring the base she returned to the dining hall for lunch. She sat at a table with Jack and Gabriel, who seemed in good spirits. After a few minutes, Reinhardt sat down with them. 

“Good to see you again, Captain!” His boisterous tone and heavy German accent were infectious. “It’s been so long!” 

“Far too long.” Ana said with a smile, memories of them together from the days of the omnic crisis flooding in. “What have you been doing?” 

“Retirement, mostly. But I trained Brigitte.” He yelled across the cafeteria. “BRIGITTE! Come say hello to Captain Amari!” Brigitte, scurried over, a bright smile very similar to Torbjörn’s plastered across her freckled face. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Captain.” Brigitte shook Ana’s hand with gusto. “I’ve heard so many stories from Reinhardt about you.” Reinhardt nodded, seemingly proud of her prior knowledge of Ana and their time together in the crisis. 

“I’ll have to keep my eye out for you.” Ana said with a smile. Brigitte reminded her so much of Fareeha: so full of hope and gusto and plans for the future. Ready to follow in her parent’s footsteps. 

As she was thinking about her daughter, Fareeha walked into the cafeteria. Ana nearly fell out of her chair- Fareeha made every move to avoid her at all costs, so willingly stepping into a room with her mother was a big step. She hurriedly made herself a sandwich, and then left as soon as she had entered. If Ana had seen it correctly, Fareeha’s hands were bandaged in thick white gauze around her knuckles. 

Ana let her go. She never had a chance of actually getting a meaningful conversation with her if she chased Fareeha down. It would just have to wait. 

  
———  


Fareeha Amari had not reacted well to the news that her mother was alive. Her mom had died a tragic death that hurt more because she had grown distant as the years passed. It was an accident, a lucky shot from a Talon slipper down the sights of her own gun. That was how it was supposed to be. Tragic. Unlucky. 

She had accepted that. However, she had to throw out the last couple of years of healing from grief when Ana walked through the cafeteria door. _Alive_. Everything she had thought she had known for the past five years about the fall of Overwatch was false. Her mom lived and chose to fake her death so she could go underground. She left her only daughter. 

Her free time, when she wasn’t actively avoiding Ana, was spent training. Training for no particular reason- she just wanted an excuse to take her anger out on something. Hard exercise helped take her hind off her anger, and a punching bag was perfect to physically rid herself of tension on her body. 

After an unfortunate encounter with her mother in the morning, Fareeha had taken to training extra hard. She was hitting a punching bag viciously, the only sound in the room was her fists making contact with the bag. After a particularly hard hook, one of her knuckles began to sting. Fareeha looked down to see that a blister had split, and she was bleeding. 

“Fuck.” She muttered. 

“Woah there.” Fareeha turned to see Jesse standing at the door, cigarillo in hand. He had a half-smile on his face. “Don’t wanna let Reinhardt hear ya say that.” Fareeha scoffed playfully. 

“It just hurt. I broke a blister.” She held her hand up to show Jesse the wound, a drop of deep red blood seeping from her knuckle. “I’ll be fine.” Jesse furrowed his brows and stepped forward to get a better look at Fareeha’s hands, which were blistered and raw from continuous sessions with the punching bag. 

“You should go see Ange. She’ll get ya patched up.” Fareeha shook her head, covering up her swollen knuckles. 

“I’ll be fine, Jess. It’s just a scratch.” 

“C’mon. If Angela finds you like this she’ll be mad as hell. Just go to her now and maybe she won’t kill ya.” Jesse said with a chuckle. 

“If you insist.” As much as she wanted to stay and whale at the punching bag a little more, her hands did hurt. Jesse smiled and clapped her on the shoulder. 

With a resigned sigh, she trudged to the infirmary. Fareeha knocked lightly before entering, and Angela rose to greet her. 

“What can I do for you, Fareeha?” Angela asked as she sat her down in the examination chair. 

“I’ve just got some blisters on my knuckles. Jesse wanted me to go get them bandaged, but it’s no deal.” Fareeha lifted up her hands so she could show her blisters. The one that split had stopped bleeding. 

“Ah.” Angela grabbed Fareeha’s hands so she could examine them further, running her thumb across her knuckles. “I can bandage these up and put an antiseptic on them to speed up the healing process.” 

“Thanks.” Angela turned and began to pull some white bandages out of a drawer. 

“What caused your blisters?” The doctor asked and she rooted around for an antiseptic ointment. 

“Training. Withy the punching bag.” Fareeha responded quickly in an attempt to convey that what she was doing was normal. In reality, she was taking out all of her anger on the punching bag, releasing years of hurt through violence. 

“Well, you seem to be doing an awful lot of it.” Angela responded as she gently rubbed ointment on Fareeha’s hands. 

“Yeah.” Fareeha responded quickly. Angela looked up, catching the look of guilt that plagued Fareeha’s face. 

“Is it about Ana?” She asked quietly, wrapping the thick white gauze around Fareeha’s palms. Fareeha nodded silently, fighting back tears. “You should talk to her. Speak what is on your mind.” 

“I don’t want to talk to her. She left me, and I don’t have anything else to say to her.” Fareeha turned her head away. 

“This isn’t good for you, Fareeha.” Angela warned as she began to bandage the other hand. “It isn’t good for you to bottle up your feelings. Talking to Ana will help you find closure. You need it.” She finished wrapping the gauze and gave Fareeha’s hand a squeeze. 

“Ok. I will talk to her. But I won’t forgive her that easily.” Angela nodded and gave her the all-clear that she could go. 

“You can do it, Fareeha.” She called as Fareeha left, trudging down the hall towards her mother’s office. Fareeha turned around to wave at Angela, and she turned the corner of the hall. 

  
———  


“Can we talk?” Ana nearly jumped out of her skin when Fareeha entered her office; it was the closest they had been to each other since she returned to the base. She had been cleaning the layer of dust

“Of course.” Ana gestured to two chairs by the office window, where the mid-day sun streamed in. Fareeha sat down with a sigh, and Ana followed suit. She noticed that Fareeha was shifting nervously in her seat. Ana felt the same way. Nervous. 

"How are you feeling?" 

"Honestly? Pretty crappy. Angry. I thought I was done being sad about losing my mom and having no strong parent. I'm just reliving a lot of the feelings I thought I didn't have to feel again." Ana nodded, hanging onto every word that her daughter said. 

"I'm sorry, Fareeha. You don't deserve to feel like this. I wish I could... take it away." Fareeha shook her head bitterly. 

"It would have been so much easier if you had come to us sooner. You didn't have to drop off the grid entirely when you were wounded." Ana sighed. She regretted that every day because it meant that she could never safely make her status known.

"I did what I thought was right for me at the time." She looked up, making eye contact with her daughter. "Now, I see that I was only making things harder for you." 

"Yeah." Fareeha scoffed. "And Dad wasn't much help either." Ana couldn't dispute that. He had never been the one to understand the risks of being in the military and the impacts it had on the day-to-day activities. 

"I married your father because I loved him. He hadn't seen what I had, didn't know the lengths I pushed myself to daily so that the world could be safe. He was _normal_ , in a way, and I wanted you to have as normal of a childhood as possible. It was foolish of me." Fareeha nodded. She could understand how her mother wanted to shield her from the horrors of war, but she could only have been protected for so long.

A silence fell between them as they mutually accepted the flaws of the past. Fareeha felt less on edge than she had before. Angela was right- talking with Ana was helping her vent her feelings and find some closure. 

"So," Ana finally spoke, "what did you do after the fall? Of Overwatch." 

"I joined Helix Security and worked in Giza for a while. Menial stuff. It wasn't like what I had hoped." She sounded disappointed. Ana reached forward and put a hand on Fareeha's knee to comfort her.

"I'm proud of you, Fareeha. You worked hard to get where you are today, and you are a stronger and more beautiful woman than I could have ever hoped for." Fareeha smiled, and it looked genuine. 

"Thanks." She responded. 

"I believe that you are able to make your own, fully rational choices, and I will stand by whatever you decide. You don't have to forgive me for everything that I put you through but... I still want to be a part of your life. Not even as a mother." 

Fareeha considered Ana's request. The anger that had roiled within her had faded away, and instead, she felt sympathetic and sad for a mother who just tried to do what was right for her child. When she spoke, she did so with confidence and conviction. 

"I could use a mentor. Someone to watch my back." She stuck her hand out, and Ana shook it. It was a mutual agreement: not complete forgiveness, but an understanding that the wrongdoings of the past were behind them. It was a symbol of a new chapter in their relationship. A better chapter. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took so long to upload. The next chapter will def. be uploaded quicker


	7. The Home Front, Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shit is about to go DOWN in this chilis and I am so ready for it aaaa  
> Also we startin off with some witty old man banter bc they are in love

Gabriel awoke to find Jack, who was not in his bed last night, taking up half the bed. The sun was streaming in through the window just right so Jack's blonde hair and eyebrows glowed with a golden hue. His muscular arms were wrapped around Gabriel's torso tight, and one of his legs was intertwined with Jack's. He chuckled when he awoke to this scene. That must have woken up Jack, who groaned and buried his face into Gabriel's side in an effort to get him to stay in bed. 

"Jesus, Jack. Clingy much?" He taunted. 

"Shhh!" Jack whispered. "Couldn't sleep last night." 

"You are a pain in my ass." Gabriel joked, but he couldn't help but be enamored by Jack's insistence to sleep more. He leaned forward and planted a gentle kiss on Jack's forehead, which earned him a hum of satisfaction. 

"If you insist, Gabe." Jack let him go and sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Gabriel ruffled his hair, which was pressed flat to his head in sections. 

"You're balding, cariño." Jack punched him in the arm for that remark but laughed anyway. It felt good to be able to comfortably tease Gabriel again. It was one of the little moments he missed after the fall. They walked to breakfast together, basking in the bright sunlight shining in from the hallway windows. 

The mood in the cafeteria was mellow and laid back. Jack and Gabe sat down next to Ana, who seemed significantly happier and more relaxed. She was holding a mug of tea, absentmindedly dunking the teabag. 

"I take it everything went well." Jack pried. Ana nodded, a satisfied smile on her face. She gestured towards the other side of the room, where Fareeha was sitting next to Angela, talking animatedly. 

The rest of the lazy morning went by quickly, and the warmth of the sun made Jack feel sleepy again. Gabriel had taken to absentmindedly holding Jack's hand, rubbing circled into his palm with his thumb. As much as he would have loved to sleep, an announcement from Athena caused him to perk up. 

"Commanders Morrison, Reyes, and Captain Amari. Please report to the comms room at once." The three looked at each other confused but made their way to the comms room hastily. Winston was standing over a radar display, rubbing his chin thoughtfully with his ape hand. 

"We have a problem." He began, gesturing to the radar display. "An unknown aircraft just entered the Andalusia region. It isn't privately owned and is too small to be a commercial airliner." Gabriel looked down at the display, where a flashing green dot was slowly making its way to the center. 

"Has it attempted to make radio contact with the ground?" Gabriel asked. 

"Not that I kno-" Winston was cut off when an alert appeared on the screen in front of them. Someone was attempting to make radio contact with them. Jack nodded, giving Winston the go-ahead to pick up the line. The audio crackled to life, and a voice that sent chills down Gabriel's spine began to speak. 

"Overwatch." Akande Ogundimu, the infamous Talon leader known as Doomfist began. "You are harboring the Talon defector known as Reaper. Hand him over, or we will use brute force to bring him back to face the Talon council." Jack looked over to Gabriel, who looked pale. He nodded to Winston, who opened up the line so he could speak. 

"Talon. As he has never formally retired or been pronounced dead, Blackwatch Commander Gabriel Reyes is under Overwatch jurisdiction. He will not be leaving with you, but if you wish to arrange negotiations we will be more than willing to comply." Gabriel grabbed Jack's arm, his hands shaking. 

"Jack. He doesn't _do_ negotiations. He will kill you, he will kill me to get what he wants. We aren't getting out of this without a fight." Jack turned back to Gabriel, grabbing both his hands to steady them. 

"That's not going to happen, Gabe. I won't let it." He turned back to the display to speak with Doomfist. "My offer still stands to negotiate." 

"No negotiations. You are harboring a Talon criminal and we are going to bring him the justice he so deserves." The line went dead, and all that could be heard was static. Jack turned to Gabriel, Ana, and Winston, who were looking to him for what to do. 

"Alert the others. A Talon attack is imminent." Winston input the command into Athena and a klaxon alarm began to wail throughout the compound. As Jack and Gabriel made their way back to their rooms, they encountered other agents scurrying through the halls, hastily assembling their gear. 

Jack almost reached for his Strike-Commander gear, which was still sitting untouched in his closet. He hesitated, but then opted for his '76 jacket. It was a monicker of the new man that he'd become. Once he was geared up, he and Gabriel headed to weapons storage, where his visor and pulse rifle sat, primed for use. 

Other teammates also entered the weapons storage room, preparing all manners of weapons for use. From rockets to shurikens to hammers, each Overwatch member armed themselves to the teeth for the upcoming clash with Talon. 

Jesse was hurriedly loading rounds into his Peacekeeper, and strapping more rounds onto his belt. His hands were shaking, and some of the bullets fell out of the chamber of his gun and onto the ground. He cursed under his breath and began to anxiously gather up the spilled bullets. 

Hanzo squatted down to help, grabbing the last rounds and handing them back to Jesse. He grabbed Jesse's free hand, which was trembling, and pulled him close so that their foreheads were touching. They stayed like that for a few precious seconds as Jesse steadied his breathing and matched it to Hanzo's. Jesse let go of his hand, but not before giving it one final squeeze, and the two continued to gear up. 

The warm air was heavy with tension as the team took up various spots around the entrance to the compound- the only way in and out. Jack, Gabriel, Ana, and Reinhardt stood behind the entrance, ready to talk their way out of this situation if they could. Other members of the team stationed themselves out of sight, but ready to attack if things went wrong. 

The sound of crunching gravel and breaking twigs alerted the team to the presence of Talon. They came out of the abandoned buildings on the edge of the town, stepping onto the compound. Doomfist stood front and center, with Moira, Sigma, and Sombra stood to his left and right. Although she wasn't there, Gabriel suspected that Amélie Lacroix, now going by Widowmaker, was there also, but he couldn't see her. 

Stepping out of the rubble behind them were two rows of Talon troopers, their red masks glinting in the light of the day. Talon's numbers were slightly less than their own, but Jack knew that Talon troopers were elite fighters, and could make up for their lack of numbers with their skill and ruthlessness. He gulped nervously. 

"Release him now, and we can avoid an altercation that will not end well for you." Doomfist's deep voice echoed. The four stood their ground, not ready to give up without a fight. 

"As we said, Reyes is under the official administration of Overwatch until we can dispense justice in a way we can see fit. We cannot turn him over to you." Ana repeated what Jack had said over the radio. Doomfist's expression darkened, and he began to clench and unclench his left fist. 

"I was hoping you would see differently. We aim to make humanity stronger through conflict, and if conflict is your only option," He stopped clenching his fist. "... then so be it." 

Jack saw her before Gabriel did. If he blinked he would have missed it: a lithe figure sprang up into the air, as if it was launched, from about 30 meters behind Doomfist and the others. It was almost invisible against the bright sky, but Jack recognized the silhouette and style of movement the figure had. It was Widowmaker, lining herself up for a shot at one of them. 

"Shield!" He barked, and pulled Gabe and Ana behind Reinhardt's shield. The shot hit it, sending a ripple of blue across the shield that had just saved the four of them. The line of troopers opened fire on them, and the rest of the members of Overwatch rushed forward to engage. Any hope of negotiation was over. 

Jack turned to Gabriel and Ana from behind the shield. They shared a nod of understanding and split up. Gabe rushed forward to join the fray, preferring to fight up close. Jack and Ana backed up, taking spots on top of a ledge so that they could survey the battle from above. 

Ana fired rounds of healing darts into teammates that needed them, and Jack used his visor to take out any unsuspecting troopers. Doomfist didn't enter the fray at all- he just stood back and watched to battle, his dark eyes calculating. 

A shadow caught his eye, and Jack nearly dodged another shot from Widowmaker as he pulled Ana behind a satellite dish. She had positioned herself up on the bridge that connected two storage buildings by the edge of the compound. Jack tapped his communicator to make sure it was working and spoke to the whole team. 

"Sniper on the bridge! Someone needs to take her out." The comm crackled with static until Hanzo answered. 

"On it." Hanzo fired the finishing arrow into the trooper he had been dealing with and scurried along the outskirts of the fight until he reached one of the storage buildings. He climbed the stairs as quietly as he could until he made it to the top, looking out at Widowmaker on the opposite end of the bridge. 

She turned to him, her cold gaze calculating the shot that would kill him the quickest. Hanzo tightened his grip on his bow, squeezing the fletching of his knocked arrow between his fingers. 

"There is still an open spot for you in the ranks of Talon." Widowmaker's smooth voice cooed. "Drop your bow and we may consider forgiving you for this grievance." Hanzo scoffed as he lifted his bow. 

"I told you _before_. I have no interest in joining Talon." He fired off a round of storm arrows in quick succession, hoping to catch the sniper off guard. She snarled as she dodged the arrows, and held up her gun in an attempt to shoot him. 

Hanzo knew that neither sniper was equipped for close-range encounters, and he hoped that Widowmaker's inability to land a killing shot on him up close would prolong their fight and shift it in his favor. He was too close for her to hit him with her gun in the sniper position, giving him time to wear her out, but she was also too close for him to land a powerful shot with his bow that would incapacitate her. 

In an attempt to unbalance her, Hanzo swept his leg under her feet, but she flipped backward and avoided him with the grace of a trained ballerina. She was farther away now- far enough that she could land a clean shot on him if she got the chance. 

Hanzo dashed back down the stairs at his end of the bridge, but not before firing off a sonic arrow in Widowmaker's direction. He could see her red silhouette on the wall as they made their way down the stairs into their respective storage facilities. The red outline faded away just as she made the landing, leaving Hanzo no way to tell where the sniper was. Undoubtedly, she would enter the building he was in and finish him off. 

The sound of footsteps in the warehouse he was in made him perk up. _He was not alone._ He knocked another arrow as he made his way behind a wall of crates, making his way behind the source of the sound so that he may catch the intruder off guard. 

He saw a shadow at the end of the crates. The footsteps were coming from there. He took a deep breath before springing out from behind the crates, aiming his arrow at the figure's neck. 

He was not prepared for who the shadow belonged to. The cold barrel of a revolver pressed into his forehead as he froze, not firing his loaded arrow. 

"Don't shoot, darlin." 

It was Jesse. The two had moved in so that their faces were only inches apart; Hanzo's bow aimed at Jesse's adam's apple, and Jesse's gun pressed firmly into Hanzo's forehead. Neither of them moved as they slowly allowed the burst of adrenaline to fade. 

Movement behind Hanzo drew Jesse's eye. 

"Duck." Hanzo ducked as Jesse threw a flashbang at the source of the movement, which happened to be Widowmaker attempting to line herself up for a shot. Jesse quickly rushed forward and hit her in the side of the head with the butt of his gun. 

She hit the ground with a thud. Hanzo kicked her gun out of her hand in case she tried anything else, but after a few seconds, it was clear that she was out cold. Jesse looked down at her lying unconscious on the floor. 

"What are we going to do with her?" Hanzo asked quietly. 

"Tie her up, I guess. But take her gun." 

After making sure that Widowmaker was as incapacitated as possible, Jesse and Hanzo slipped out of the storage building to rejoin the fight. They relayed the sniper’s status into their comms, which earned a ‘Goid job’ from Ana. 

As Jack surveyed the battle from above, he was pleased by what he saw. Talon agents were falling left and right as Overwatch finished them off. The battle seemed to be leaning in their favor. 

However, he couldn’t help but feel that something wasn’t right. After Hanzo and McCree confirmed that they had taken Widowmaker out, something had inexplicably shifted. 

It may have taken him a minute, but when he realized what had changed, he broke out into a cold sweat. The edge of the compound, where wounded agents were fleeing, there was a notable absence of someone who had been there the whole time. 

Doomfist was gone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also sorry for splitting this into two parts theres just a lot I wanna get through


	8. The Home Front, Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part two baby lets goooooooo  
> Also, TW for violence and injury in this chapter  
> I don’t think it’s that bad but just in case be careful

Fear, cold and paralyzing, dripped down Jack's spine. Doomfist was nowhere to be seen, and he could easily take out any one of the members of Overwatch if they were separated. He needed to locate Doomfist immediately.

Ana had dropped down from the ledge she had been on to care for Ganji, who had taken a direct hit from a Talon agent- it was just Jack on the roof. He needed to make his position and the change in Doomfist's location known. He tapped on the commlink in his ear a few times to make sure it was working and called upon the first person who came to mind.

"Gabe. I need you to-" Jack was cut off by a noise from behind. The sound of machine powering up; a rocket punch thundering his way. Jack was able to dodge out of Doomfist's path of destruction just in time, but doing so caused him to lose his balance.

His feet slipped off the edge of the platform. He fell, about a ten-foot drop, and hit the ground with a thud that knocked the air out of him. Jack gasped for air, but he had no time to sit and catch his breath because Doomfist had lept off the platform, his right hand raised to smash the ground as he landed.

Again, Jack was just barely able to avoid his attacks, scrambling away just before his fist connected with the concrete and made a small crater where he had been. _Too close._ Jack scrambled to his feet in a desperate bid to gain the upper hand in this fight. He was breathless with exertion, shoulders heaving as he caught his breath.

"Gabriel!" Jack barked into his comm frantically, desperate for help. He could have sworn he heard a response, but someone else demanded his full attention. Sigma, who had once been Overwatch's list of potential recruits, was hovering before him, shield blocking both him and Doomfist.

Jack fired pointless rounds into the shield in an attempt to weaken or break it. He even fired off a trio of helix rockets before he realized the shield was not going to break easily. Jack dashed for cover behind a large rock, but he knew it wouldn't last very long. He panted as Sigma and Doomfist drew closer, racking his mind for a plan that would get him out of this precarious situation. 

It was almost comforting to Jack to see a cloud of black mist take the shape of a man beside him, behind the rock. Gabriel solidified, shotgun in each hand, looking worried. 

"I'm sorry. I came as fast as I could. You kept cutting out." He peeked over the top of the rock to gauge the situation but was forced back down when two gravitic charges whizzed past his head. 

"What should we do?" Jack asked, voice raspy. 

"I don't know." Gabriel hesitated before responding as he considered all of their options. When he turned back to Jack, he spoke full of resolve. "Whatever we do, we'll do it together." 

They shared a nod, a simultaneous acknowledgment that whatever happened, they weren’t going to leave each other’s sides. They acted in unison, springing up from behind the rock and firing at Doomfist and Sigma. Jack vaulted towards them, and Gabriel shifted his form so he could phase through the rock. 

Jack and Gabe fought back to back, protecting each other from behind and dodging strikes and punches. Sigma’s shield had weakened considerably, with cracks appearing at the edges as it began to break. Gabe must have noticed as well because he began focusing his fire on it. They were a well-oiled machine, acting off just the slightest queue from the other without even having to say a word. 

It all came crumbling down once they were separated. A well-placed rocket punch from Doomfist aimed directly at their sides had them split up to avoid it, which made them both more vulnerable. Jack was caught in a daze from being wrenched from Gabriel, which gave Sigma an opening. 

The scraping of rocks against each other caused Jack to turn, but the debris was already headed his way. A mass of rock hit him squarely in the face, sending cracks throughout his visor. Pieces began to break off. Jack pulled it off with a yelp, hoping to keep shards of glass and metal out of his eyes. 

Without the visor, Jack’s partial blindness was more prevalent. The edges of his vision were clouded, and objects farther away were harder to make out. Everything was lopsided; _wrong._ Even with the loss of the visor, Jack couldn’t just leave Gabriel to fight by himself. He had promised they would stay together, and that’s what he would do. 

Jack worked quickly to disable Sigma, dodging charges left and right to get an opening at him. Once he spied one, Jack kicked him in the side, sending him scrambling back for air. A few warning shots to his left made Sigma retreat, fleeing towards another building for cover. Just before he disappeared behind a wall, he sent two final gravitic charges towards Jack in a last-ditch effort to hit him. 

Jack easily sidestepped the charges but realized his fatal error too late. Without his visor, his periphery was blurry, which gave Doomfist the opening he needed to charge forward and get a hit on Jack. It happened in slow motion: Jack turned towards the noise of the rocket-punch but saw that Doomfist was already thundering towards him. 

“Jack!” Was the last thing he heard as the distance closed between him and Doomfist. 

A final surge of adrenaline surged through Jack as he acted purely on instinct; throwing himself away from the punch. Doomfist’s gauntlet glanced off of his right side, half-hitting him in the ribs. Jack felt a bone-chilling crack as metal contacted with bone, sending waves of red-hot pain surging through his body. 

The force of the punch knocked him back, and Jack fell flat on his back again. He gasped for air, but immediately coughed and sputtered. What came up was blood. The sight of his own blood and the magnitude of the pain tearing up his side forced a scream out of Jack’s mouth- an unrestrained scream of pain and fear. 

Gabriel’s heart stopped as he watched it all pan out, helpless to do anything, and frozen to the spot. As Doomfist stood over Jack, who was writhing in agony, a fire was lit in Gabriel’s chest. Rage, hot, pure rage roared up from his insides and set him aflame. It boiled out of him like the mist that flowed off his body. 

“Ogundimu!” Gabriel seethed. He didn’t even wait for a second for Doomfist to acknowledge him, he was already rushing forward to attack. He delivered a volley of shots in his direction, some of them hitting Doomfist’s side. However, he made no sign that it affected him, he just returned the attacks. 

As flurries of attacks flew at him, Gabriel kept up with a keen efficiency. Any punch aimed at him with the gauntlet he was able to avoid by shifting his form into mist just before it hit. He even delivered blows with his shotguns, resorting to swinging them at Doomfist once they were empty. 

_He had to wear him out, make him hurt. This has to be over now._ The pace of their blows to each other slowed down as they both became more exhausted. Even though it was harder to tell, even Doomfist was wearing out, his attacks becoming more loose and sporadic as time went on. 

Finally, Gabriel got the opening he needed. He dropped his shotguns, and new ones appeared from his sands, solidifying out of the black mist. Swinging them forward, he took a shot at what little exposed skin was on Doomfist’s right arm. It hit just above the elbow, rendering the bottom half of his arm useless. 

Doomfist stepped back, less of a stumble and more of a tactical change of position. Gabriel realized a tad too late and turned to see a large chunk of rock hurling his way. It hit him in the back of his head, causing his vision to swim. Gabe dropped to his knees. 

When the spots in his vision had cleared, Doomfist and Sigma were nowhere to be seen. As Gabriel scanned the battlefield, a retreat order must have been given, because the Talon agents began to leave the battlefield in the direction they came. As the battle died down, the noise of fighting became quieter and quieter until the only sound that could be heard was the ocean waves. 

After what could have been an eternity or a second of silence, a gasp from Jack broke Gabriel out of his stupor. He rushed to Jack's side, clasping his shaking hands like a lifeline. A little trickle of blood was dripping from the corner of his mouth, a fierce crimson against his porcelain skin. 

"It's going to be ok, Jack. Jack. It'll be fine. You're ok. It's ok." Gabe could barely get his words out between sobs and gasps. He was hardly talking to Jack anymore, his statements were more promises to himself as he saw the person he loved most injured in front of him. 

The last thing Jack saw before the world went black was Gabriel looking down at him, eyes filled with tears, telling him that everything was going to be ok. Jack didn't have the energy to question it, so he let the welcoming darkness envelop him. _And he believed it._

  
———  


The infirmary was quiet. Only the steady beep of a heart monitor, which indicated a steady pulse, broke the silence rhythmically. Gabriel hadn't left the infirmary since Jack had been brought in two days earlier, after their encounters with Doomfist and Talon. Gabriel was sleeping lightly, sitting on the ground but leaned up against the hospital bead that Jack was occupying. 

Jack awoke, groaning softly as his eyes fluttered open to take in his surroundings. His right side felt fuzzy like a tv static was occupying the space where his ribs should be. Jack turned his head to the left where Gabriel was sleeping, a small white bandage on his head. With enough effort to make his head spin, he croaked out a word. 

"Gabe." It was small, a gravelly whisper, but Gabriel awoke immediately after hearing his name. He turned to Jack, and immediately sprang up and closed the gap between them when he saw he was awake. He kissed him like it was the last thing he'd ever do, letting a few tears slip out as he did so. 

"Christ." He whispered as he pulled away, noticing Jack wince in pain. "I'm sorry I-... I was just so worried. We didn't know what would happen if-... oh my god you had lost so much blood and..." He cried hot tears as he held him close, pressing their foreheads together as a reassurance that he was alive and real. 

"Hey, it's ok. I'm alright now." Jack whispered back, wrapping his arms around Gabriel's torso and pulling him closer into an embrace. He held him like that until Gabe's breathing steadied and was in sync with his, a reassurance that he was okay. Just like he had promised. 

After what felt like hours of questions from Angela and visits from other team members, the sun was starting to set outside the infirmary window. Only Ana and Gabe remained in the room, watching the picturesque view as the sun disappeared over the sea. Angela entered to administer a final round of painkillers and then wished them all goodnight. Cautiously, Gabe stopped her. 

"Is it ok if I stay?" Angela nodded, a loving smile crossing her face. She knew how much Jack meant to him, and she trusted him enough now that it didn't matter to her if he stayed. Gabriel quietly reentered the room, resigning himself to sitting on the floor and leaning up against the bed. After about 10 minutes of darkness and silence, Jack leaned over the edge of the bed to look at Gabe. 

"You don't have to sleep on the floor." He whispered. "We can share the bed." 

"Are you sure?" Gabriel asked tentatively. "I don't... want to hurt you." 

"You couldn't. Come on." Jack patted the empty space on the bed to his left and Gabriel gingerly laid down next to him. The warmth of Gabe next to him immediately put Jack at ease, and he nuzzled his face into his neck. Gabriel let out a sigh and wrapped an arm around Jack's torso, holding him close. 

Gabe gingerly ran his fingers over the bandages that coated Jack’s right side, using the texture of the gauze and the warmth of his skin to ground him in reality. In the reality that they had survived. _He_ had survived. As if he sensed Gabriel’s unrest, Jack craned his head up and kissed him, ever-so gently, on the corner of his mouth. 

Gabriel let out a hum of satisfaction, and finally resigned himself to sleep. When he woke up the next morning with his arms still around Jack and the tickle of his hair on his chest, he was finally able to let himself believe that they were ok. 

The healing process would be long, Jack knew that, but on the 3rd day of bedrest he began to feel antsy. Begrudgingly, Angela was able to find an old wheelchair, and Jack was able to roam the compound freely again, with some help from Gabe or whoever was nearby. Being able to have some freedom again made him feel invigorated and whole again. His morale, as well as the rest of the team’s, was boosted considerably. 

Even still, smaller moments in-between reminded them all of what they went through during the battle, and what they had lost. When Jack needed to get from the chair to the bed or vice-versa, he needed help doing it. Stabs of pain, white-hot and blinding, seared through his side as Gabriel did his best to move him, reminding them both that the healing process wasn’t be over, and it would take time before things could return to normal again. 

It would take patience to soothe the wounds of the past, and it would take greater patience and _courage_ to prepare for what wounds the future held. But for now, Jack clung onto every moment, every little scrap of sunshine or small smile because it meant that things were better. Healing. 

Even as he sat in the cafeteria, surrounded by old friends who had grown considerably older, and he felt completely at peace and in place with the world. As he snuck a kiss from Gabriel on the cheek, a thought passed through his head that resounded through the events of the past few weeks. 

_This is how things are supposed to be_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with me to the ends. Kudos are greatly appreciated, and you can check out my art on Instagram at @_lemonfrog_  
> A McHanzo fic is currently in the works! Stay tuned and have a great day :)


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